FLINT, Michigan — Pierce Elementary School sixth-grader Christian Aubrey just had to show State Schools Superintendent Mike Flanagan the work posted on the hallway walls.

“And there are our Canadian brochures we did — on Canada,” Christian said Wednesday morning. “And mine is right there.”

“So where is Prince Edward Island?” Flanagan asked.

And, Christian wasted no time showing off his knowledge: “It’s by Newfoundland.”

Flanagan kicked off a tour of the Flint School District on Wednesday at Pierce Sarvis, which houses Pierce Elementary fifth- and sixth-graders as well as Head Start classes at the Sarvis Center.

View full sizeBlake Thorne | The Flint JournalSixth-grade student Christian Aubrey points out a classroom to Michigan Department of Education Superintendent Mike Flanagan at the Pierce Sarvis campus of Pierce Elementary School Wednesday.

As head of Michigan’s Department of Education, chair of the state Board of Education and education advisor to Gov. Rick Snyder, Flanagan shapes some of the biggest decisions affecting public education in Michigan.

Flanagan’s schedule also included visits to Holmes Middle School and Northwestern High School before addressing a group of Genesee County superintendents.

Flanagan is visiting a different Michigan school district each month as part of his role as overseer of the state’s public education system.

“This place is really impressive,” Flanagan said after being shown around Pierce Sarvis by a handful of different students. “These kids are among the most excited and articulate kids I've come across.”

This was Flanagan’s first official visit to Flint.

Flanagan said there would be some tough conversations at Northwestern. Northwestern and Flint Northern High School were included on a list of the state's persistently lowest-achieving schools that was released by Flanagan’s department last June.

Flanagan, who has been state superintendent since 2005, said school visits help him keep his sights on what the job’s really about: helping students get a good education.

Flint Superintendent Linda Thompson agreed.

“It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the meetings and the decisions, to lose sight of what we’re doing this all for, which is these young people right here,” Thompson said.

Flanagan’s visit comes on the heels of some tough news from Lansing.

Snyder’s budget proposal last week included $470 per-pupil in cuts for schools. That translates to about $4.7 million in revenue that wouldn’t be coming to the Flint district.

Though the schools have had improvement plans approved by the state, Flanagan said there’s still work to be done.

But for Christian, Flanagan’s visit was a fun one — especially since he got to show off where Prince Edward Island is: “It was pretty cool.”